Military Out of Our Schools!

By Kyle Gilbertson

CHICAGO, IL -- Carrying signs that read “Killing Iraqis is not a Job Opportunity”, and “Big Brother, Get Off of Our Campus!”, about 15 people protested against a job fair at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) on April 13th. The job fair offered a wide selection of careers in murder and repression, with representatives from the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the Border Patrol, several local police departments, and an unannounced appearance by the Navy Officer Corps. Military recruiters have kept a low profile on our campus, but thankfully we were prepared when – as we expected – they snuck into the job fair. The event, which happens once every semester at NEIU, was held in an enclosed space for the first time, allowing for tighter security and screening of participants. However, after passing out hundreds of “know your potential employer” fact sheets, we were able to enter the job fair and surround the Navy recruiters’ table, bombarding them with questions for a good half-hour. They took a defensive line, pointing out that Navy officers are not likely to see hard combat, and telling us that we should target the Bush administration, not them. The protest was highly visible, and allowed us to engage dozens of bystanders in discussions about why we should kick military recruiters off of our campus, using our anti-recruitment petition. We plan to build on this momentum by organizing a speak-out on April 19th together with other student groups to demand “money for education, not for war and occupation!”